Communication
by StormyNight55
Summary: Commander Erwin Smith revolutionizes communication beyond the walls, and considers working on his tactics within them.


An SnK one-shot, eruri hints (and more than hints) but certainly not focused. More so focused on the development of the long distance communication employed by the Legion by the time our beloved 104th reaches their ranks.

I'm considering making an Archive of Our Own account and posting this there as well. SnK seems more popular there than on FF, though who am I not to contribute to a fandom I love on either site?

(and to all those Footsoldiers fans who may have gotten an alert thanks to this one-shot, no worries, the next chapter of that is under works)

**Disclaimer: I don't own SnK. Or Lemon Pledge.**

* * *

Commander Erwin Smith had reached an impasse. He was on the verge of something groundbreaking, something that could – no, _would – _save lives, the lives of his valuable and honorable soldiers.

" – the supply closet has been pitifully empty for days – "

If only he could put the puzzle together. He had all the pieces, all of the motivation that he needed – ineffective long distance communication had led to increased causalities in the field, gunshots had never really cut it but they were the right idea, surely – but he was staring blankly at the box without the slightest clue as to how to proceed.

" – Lemon Pledge immediately, the communal bathrooms smell like we fucking keep pigs – "

He was on the verge of a breakthrough, yes. He just needed something to set him over the edge.

"Oi," a pair of fingers snapped in front of his face, and he blinked with surprise. "Are you even listening?"

Captain Levi was perched on his desk, legs crossed and looking mildly annoyed. Of course Erwin had known that he was there, but he had…not really been paying attention as to why.

Rather than admit it, he took a shot in the dark.

"Right," he cleared his throat, "yes, I was, actually. Very well. Take it out of the budget."

It was very, very dangerous as Commander to grant soldiers access to funds of unknown amounts for unknown uses, but this was Levi and Erwin felt confident that it couldn't be anything too frivolous. Unless it had to do with cleaning. The blonde felt a twinge of apprehension.

"Really?" Levi blinked, annoyance dissipating. "Hm. Okay."

Erwin's apprehension nearly tripled.

"Levi," he called after him as the shorter man slid from his desk and headed for the door, "please do try to be…frugal."

"Yeah," came the bored reply without a pause in step.

"Send for Hanji, as well."

There was a nod before the captain disappeared down the hallway, leaving Erwin to fret about whatever portion of the budget he had just signed away. The last time he had made a similar infraction, he had awoken to scented candles lining the hallways, latrines, mess hall…_everywhere._ As a result there had been a budget shortage bad enough that the Scouting Legion had been forced to cut out fresh meat rations for the month and go without, which the cooks had tried to replace with canned beans. This had led to an increased…_use _of the communal latrines and as a result a very irritated Levi, who insisted on furiously scrubbing them down at least once a day, and then himself. The end result had been a very stern reprimand from Erwin to Squad Leader Mike Zacharius, who sniggered while the commander explained the strictly professional repercussions of his frivolous spending.

_(" – I never imagined your _nose _would inconvenience _my _personal life in _any _way, Mike – ")_

The captain promised sincerely never to repeat any such event, no matter how good scented candles were 'for morale'.

_(" – understood, Commander. Very sorry for the unintended consequences suffered by your sex life.")_

He shuddered, returning to his near-breakthrough. There had to be something that he hadn't yet thought of.

"You called, Commander?"

He looked up from the wood finish of his desk, pleased to find Hanji Zoe standing in his doorway.

"Yes," he answered as she approached. "You're just who I need right now."

"I do hope that means it's something scientific," she clasped her hands.

"Maybe," he truly didn't know how technologically intensive his idea was going to become, "I need you to mull this over for the next few days. I want to revolutionize communication beyond the walls. Causalities on our last mission were at an all-time high. We need to curb those numbers, Hanji."

"Of course," she nodded very seriously. "I'll see what I can do. Oh, and Erwin?"

"Hm?"

"You do remember the ball that we set out for tomorrow?" She asked. "The fundraising event?"

He cursed, only because it was Hanji and there was no harm in letting her see that it had slipped his mind. She, unlike most of the Legion and beyond it, knew that he was only human.

"Thought so," she smiled gently. "No worries, there's still plenty of time to prepare. Not that you need to do much. Pick out a suit and look _dashing _for the inner district ladies!"

She winked and then hooted with laughter, throwing back her head.

"Who do you think I should bring?" He leaned back in his chair and asked her honestly. "You should come. We could dance together, and the nobles wouldn't bother us."

"I can't move in those gown things those people wear," she swung a chair from the corner of the office over to the other side of his desk and planted herself in it, propping her feet up onto his desk casually, "let alone tango with the hunky Erwin Smith."

He smiled and rolled his eyes and she cackled again. It was all playful speculation. Erwin knew that he could not avoid entertaining the nobles at such events to incur much needed donations, and truly it was nowhere near the most awful of things he had ever had to do. He only complained of the events in private with his trusted friends, and was genuinely grateful that the Legion had such opportunities at all.

"I'll go," she raised a finger, "on one condition."

"Or I could order you to go."

"My condition is," she ignored him, "bets."

"Bets."

"Bets," she repeated with a wily grin, "I –"

"No."

"Oh, fine," she gave up rather quickly. "I didn't _really_ expect you to go for the same trick twice."

Hanji Zoe had only been to one fundraising event and there was a reason for that. She had created a betting pool in secret with Mike and Levi over who could secure the most money by the end of the night. Halfway through the event Levi agreed to go home with a noblewoman for a _hefty _price and promptly began ignoring her once the sizable check was placed in his hands. She pitched a fit in the middle of the ballroom while Levi casually made his exit and sat in the carriage until the night was over, around which time they realized that Mike was nowhere to be found, having _actually _gone home with a noblewoman.

Mike had eventually been located and did produce a check – bigger than Levi's, which was an impressive feat.

Erwin pinched the bridge of his nose at the memory. It had been a gigantic success for their budget, but the missive that had been sent down to him from Generalissimo Zacklay _still _made him blush with embarrassment.

"You should take Petra," Hanji proposed. "Noblemen would line up for her! She's like a little doll!"

"Why do you have to be this way?" He sighed. "I'm not in the business of selling our soldiers for money. I like Petra. I'm not sending her to the ball with questionable motives."

"Funding is an unquestionable motive," Hanji countered.

"Fine, skewed morals," he compromised. "Levi is coming. Mike is…coming, I suppose. He should be tame without you there."

A grin split her face.

"A few more should do it," he mused. "You pick them. No one too green."

She nodded and rose to her feet.

"Yes, sir."

"Don't forget what I asked you to think about, Hanji," he added as she left.

"I'll give it everything I've got, Commander," she replied, saluting him before she closed the door.

* * *

"I thought Shitty Glasses wasn't allowed to come anymore?"

Erwin sighed as he boarded the carriage behind Levi and noticed that Hanji was in fact already aboard, dressed in a purple ball gown and accompanied by a nervous Moblit and fellow squad leader Mike Zacharius.

"Hanji, what are you doing?"

"You told me to pick a few others," she replied innocently. "So here we are!"

"So what's the betting pool starting at?" Mike leaned forward from his seat across from her, looking eager.

"No betting pool," Erwin dismissed as the cart began to move. "Absolutely not. Tonight is about fundraising for the sake of the Legion, not games. This is important."

"It's important that Mike and I know whose dick is worth more money."

Erwin had half a mind to turn the carriage around and replace his higher-ups with a handful of new recruits.

_At least they'd be scared of me._

"No," he sighed, tipping his head back slightly and closing his eyes in exasperation. "No bets, no _dicks. _Pants stay buttoned. All anatomy remains in custody of its rightful owner."

"Yes, sir," Levi replied entirely too compliantly, raising Erwin's suspicions just as he reached over and rested his hand on Erwin's crotch with a straight face. Mike snorted while Hanji let out a full blown laugh. He chose not to look at Moblit, but he did catch him whispering nervously for her to stop.

"If I were smart," he spoke as Levi withdrew his hand of his own accord, "I would write all of you up for insubordination."

"Yeah," Levi relented surprisingly. "I shouldn't have done that in front of Moblit."

He implied nothing of Hanji or Mike's presence, which was apparently acceptable. The captain leaned forward so that he could look Hanji's second-in-command squarely in the eye.

"So keep your mouth shut."

"Yes, of course, sir," he sputtered nervously. Erwin felt sorry for the man, really. He didn't know if Moblit had been born as neurotic as he seemed to be, or if years of service under Hanji Zoe had maddened him a bit. The latter was more likely than Erwin liked to admit.

Being that it was fruitless to ask for the best behavior of his soldiers, Erwin merely hoped for something better than disaster of the trip. The long ride began to wear on him until he dozed off, and when he woke he found that all but Levi had done the same.

"How long did I sleep for?" He yawned, leaned against the shorter man's head as he was nestled stoically against his shoulder.

"Maybe an hour," he shrugged. "Go back to bed. There's still a ways to go."

He leaned down and kissed the captain lightly. There was no harm it so long as everyone was still asleep.

"Morning breath," Levi grumbled. "Better hope there's a bathroom for you somewhere or we're going home broke."

Erwin chuckled. When they finally arrived there were in fact washrooms to freshen up in, and the dance carried on harmlessly, with him busy twirling noble ladies and chatting up gentlemen while keeping one eye on Hanji. He spared some time to chat with his fellow commanders, he and Levi having a drink with Dot Pixis until Nile Dawk appeared and the captain vanished like a ghost. He avoided that man like the plague and it was just as well, because every time the two exchanged more than a handful of words Levi managed to say something gravely offensive and drive further the wedge between the Scouting Legion and Military Police.

Hanji seemed under control by Moblit, and Mike vanished only once throughout the night, though he did reappear with a noblewoman who looked entirely too pleased with him. Erwin decided that it could be worse, and one was a number that he could feasibly pretend not to have noticed.

The night, all things considered, was progressing beautifully. So much so that when Levi cornered him in the bathroom, he didn't think twice about locking the door.

"How much have you had to drink?" He asked slyly as Levi climbed into his arms, where he hoisted him into the air and pressed his back against the wall.

"Enough to have a riveting conversation with a lady about her head piece," he mumbled through a kiss.

"A lot, then?" He trailed his lips down the captain's throat, who tipped his head back in response.

"Told her she looked like a fucking bird," his fingers gripped tighter as Erwin lightly grazed his skin with teeth. "She thought it was a compliment."

Erwin swallowed any further comment, sealing their lips and nibbling at the captain's bottom lip.

"Don't you worry that someone will knock?" He asked huskily, without really requiring an answer. It would not be the first time he and Levi narrowly dodged discovery. It was part of the excitement.

"They're all outside," Levi lowered himself from Erwin's hold, taking care to drag every inch of them against one another, "watching the fireworks."

_Fireworks._

Fireworks.

Erwin paused, his expression pure awe. Levi blinked and furrowed his brow.

"Oi, you oaf," he grumbled, displeased in the obvious lapse in attention. "Are you gonna keep going or what?"

"I'll be right back," Erwin tore out of the bathroom. The ballroom was empty and he rushed through it with long, hurried strides and down the stairwell until he reached the courtyard, where guests were mingling and nibbling on appetizers while enjoying the show. He halted and took in the sight above him – bright, colorful explosions lighting up the night. How had he not considered it before?

"_Commander!" _Across the yard, Hanji Zoe threw her hands into the air and shrieked, a few nobles skittering a safe distance from her. He caught her eye and she hiked up her dress, racing through the crowd until she was close enough to leap into his arms. Overcome by his own epiphany, he spun her around, the tress of her gown spinning in the air. "Do you see what I'm seeing? Do you see it?"

She spoke feverishly and he nodded, laughing with delight.

"Please tell me that you're already coming up with something in that beautiful brain of yours," the cracking high above them drowned out their conversation to most others around them, though since spinning the woman in his arms they had been given a wide, safe berth and a few confused glances.

"Of course," she cried, hands lifting from his shoulders to clap in the air. "I can see it now!"

"What would I do without you, Hanji?" He beamed.

"Be doomed to a career without any technological advances?" She suggested most humbly. "Also, I think this will prove to add yet another layer to our friendship, Erwin."

"Oh, I'd say I –"

"Not the fireworks," she leaned closer to whisper and Erwin blinked in puzzlement. "If we didn't have such a long and comfortable history I'd politely ignore it, but I can feel your boner through your pants."

Erwin tossed her from his arms unceremoniously.

"Dismissed, Squad Leader."

"Of course, sir."

* * *

Upon their return to headquarters, Erwin wanted nothing more than to immediately drill Hanji for every idea that she was worth. However he knew that she would perform best if he allowed her to hash out her plans privately, one by one, and that sooner or later she would come to him eagerly presenting her finest – and that she did.

"This," she tossed something onto his desk, "is my flare gun."

The object was roughly the size of a human arm, and covered in some kind of soot that also spattered Hanji and now his desk. It had a large lever over the top of it and a case to hold whatever ammunition Hanji had prepared.

"A little bulky, yes," Hanji went on, "but not a bad prototype, right? I'll certainly be conducting renovations once I decide what direction to proceed. You fill it with gunpowder and fire it into the air on horseback. I haven't yet been able to incorporate anything intricate like colors, but it's easy to see from a distance, and certainly makes directional cues simpler to follow than listening for a gunshot a mile off."

Erwin was more than willing to play audience to Hanji's trial run. He followed her to the courtyard – more or less an open field, nothing fancy like they had seen in the inner districts – and found Mike and Levi already present. Moblit was there as well as the rest of Hanji's primary squad, the tawny-haired man already looking uneasy.

"Come to see the show?" Levi deadpanned, but he did sound mildly interested. Hanji scuttled to the center of the courtyard and positioned her device.

"Prototype one!" She shouted. "Trial run! And _fire!"_

There was a resounding boom and the woman disappeared in a black mushroom cloud. A trail of it did shoot high into the air very visibly, but those below were much more concerned with whatever had become of Hanji Zoe.

"Fucking hell," Levi cursed just as Moblit cried 'Squad Leader!' and both rushed into the smoke. Erwin and Mike watched, exchanging a single uneasy glance, until the smoke cleared enough to reveal Hanji Zoe flat on her back in the grass. Erwin let out a sigh of relief when she hooted.

"Incredible!" She cried, blackened head to toe and coughing briefly. "Though a bit too much recoil, wouldn't you say, Commander?"

"A bit," he called back with a nervous chuckle. "Are you alright, Hanji?"

"Fine!" She got to her feet, standing between Levi and Moblit before clapping them both hard on their backs. "I've already got a few ideas for improvements! I'll report to your office as soon as it's ready!"

"Take a goddamn shower first," Levi ordered after her as she scooped up the instrument. He was beating his palms against his clothing with displeasure, soot having stuck to him after running into the cloud.

"And risk forgetting these renovations?" She dashed out of the courtyard.

"Woo!" Mike was now hollering and laughing raucously. "Nice, Hanji! Maybe you'll launch right over the walls next time!"

Erwin approached the center of the courtyard as the spectators dissipated, where Levi was still patting down his soiled uniform.

"You're welcome to shower in my quarters," he offered. Levi narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah, I fucking better be," he grumbled. "You know, some lady at that party asked me if I could get your hand in marriage for her."

"For her," he repeated. "How exactly does that work?"

"Beats me," he was now dusting down his boots. "I told her you're already committed."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah," he looked up. "To the job."

Erwin frowned. Levi did not seem to notice, or else did not mind.

"All the same," he spoke slowly, "I hope to see you in my quarters."

"Is that an order?"

Erwin's frown deepened.

"No, Levi," he turned away, "it isn't an order."

Still, he heard the sound of footsteps following him as he crossed the yard.

* * *

The next time Hanji came to him, she presented a contraption half the size of the first. It was still bulky, and Erwin had his reservations, but he agreed to a trial run nonetheless and again they congregated in the courtyard.

"Hey, what do you need my girl for?" Mike hurried over to where Moblit was standing near the squad leader's horse. Erwin too had his questions about that detail.

"We need a trial on horseback, or what good is the flare gun?" Hanji justified, handing the device over to Mike. "You can do the honors, if it makes you feel any better about it."

Mike hesitantly climbed atop the mare.

"If anything happens to my girl, Hanji…"

"Sh," Hanji shushed him without the least bit of reassurance and scampered away, calling instructions as she went. "Pull the lever when I say fire, okay? And point the barrel straight up! Prototype two! Trial run! And _fire!"_

She reached Erwin's side just as Mike cocked back the gun and pulled the lever.

The ensuing explosion was nearly deafening. The spectators all flinched violently and rushed to slap their hands over their ears. Mike dropped the gun to do the same, but the mare beneath him had spooked so badly at the sound that with one solid kick she bucked Mike from her back and to the grass. The shot had gone quite neatly into the air, with none of the messiness of the first trial, but hardly anyone had been paying attention to that over the painful sound.

"I think I'm deaf!" Mike shouted loudly from on his back. Erwin peeled his hands away from his ears at last. "My ears are ringing!"

"Nice work, Four-Eyes," Levi droned, dropping his hands as well. "I always thought it would be your ranting that deafened one of us."

* * *

Mike did actually lose his hearing, but only for twenty-four hours. He was angrier about the newly skittish nature of his favorite horse, and frankly Erwin was a little miffed about that as well. He banned horses from future trial runs and Hanji, unperturbed, got back to work.

"You created a monster," Levi warned him, perched atop his desk as per usual as Erwin read and stamped various papers. "Oh, fuck. Here she comes."

This time Hanji presented her newest version by outstretching her hands rather than flopping it onto his desk. It looked more like an actual gun and less like a miniature cannon, which Erwin liked.

"I replaced the lever with a trigger for single-handed use. Convenient on horseback. Also, it's now light and compact enough to fit in a holster, we could request to have the waist belt on our uniforms fitted with one. It doesn't spook the horses, either."

"How do you know that?"

She ignored him.

"There's little recoil. You'll still want to cover your ears when you use it, but it isn't bad. It only fires a sort of charcoal gray color. For now."

Erwin still felt some hesitance. He was definitely impressed, but the last two trial runs had not exactly been resounding successes.

"Permission to run a field drill, sir?" She asked. "Not a titan-infested field, of course. Just any old field within the walls."

"Hanji –"

"Let me demonstrate," she suddenly loaded the gun and was at his open window. Levi slapped his hands over his ears and swore, and mid-protest she fired.

The result was a pop that made him wince, but considering what had happened last time it was definitely tolerable. The smoke proceeded through the air in a perfect arch, clearly visible and contained to its line of trajectory. He blinked and looked at Levi.

"It's not bad," the captain admitted with a shrug.

"Alright," Erwin relented, and Hanji clapped eagerly. "What exactly do you have in mind?"

* * *

What was supposed to be a professional trial run of a potentially military-approved communication device was rapidly devolving into an overly elaborate game of capture-the-flag.

Erwin would have been lying if he tried to say that he wasn't allowing it.

Hanji had insisted on as much 'realism' as could be provided, so they were all in full 3D Maneuver Gear. He, Levi, Hanji, Mike and Nanaba were to play themselves, and so all five donned their horses as well. Petra, Auruo, Erd, Gunter and Moblit had been recruited to play the role of titans, and so for them there were no horses, only gear, and a small red strip of fabric taped to the back of their collars. Erwin's job was to lead his soldiers to an assigned point (the abandoned, castle-esque base that had once served as the Legion's headquarters) without any 'causalities' or otherwise lost soldiers, using the flare gun to navigate.

Despite how it might have looked, it was an _exceedingly _serious military drill.

"Ready?" Erwin took the reins of his horse. The 'titans' had vanished into hiding. They were taking a particularly forested route to the castle, to ensure fairness for the opposition and to allow use of the gear at all. "Levi, I want you to take the right flank, inner perimeter. Hanji, you take his outer. Mike, Nanaba, same for you two on the left. I want you as far out of each other's sights as possible. We need to rely entirely on the flare guns for communication for the drill to be effective. Remember, I'll fire one shot for a directional change. You'll return it to confirm. Two shots for a titan sighting and three for an emergency."

"What if the mission fails?" Nanaba asked.

"If it fails, Hanji will scream as loud as she possibly can," Mike smirked. Even Levi managed a slight smile at that, and for that Erwin let the joke slide.

"Yeah," the captain agreed. "That should do it. Everyone within the walls will hear that."

"Four shots for mission failure," Erwin corrected, spurring on his horse. "Let's go, then."

"Prototype three!" Hanji shrieked behind him. "Field drill! And _fire!"_

He pulled the trigger and fired one shot into the air to signal their beginning. The straight burst of smoke proceeded into the air flawlessly, and he admired it as he galloped into the trees, his soldiers dispersing behind him until he could no longer hear the beat of their horses' hooves. It was only he and his own steed, equipped with a flare gun and gear against titans.

Fake titans. No blades. He reminded himself of that. No blades had been Levi's idea.

(_"The hell do we need blades for? It's all fun and shit until I think I hear a titan and fillet Petra.")_

It was a good call, Erwin thought. They had all felt more than their fair shares of terror in their lifetimes, and Erwin didn't think for a moment that he was the only one who would need to remind himself that this was only a drill.

For what might have been ten or fifteen minutes, Erwin proceeded through the forest without a hitch. Things were going so smoothly that Erwin began to doubt that the drill would prove anything other than their ability to ride in straight lines toward a target.

That was when he heard something whooshing through the trees nearby. His eyes flitted in the direction of the sound just in time to see a figure rushing towards him, and he hugged closer to his horse to avoid being struck to the ground as the figure passed over him.

"Very sorry, sir!" Petra's voice followed past him, and he resisted the urge to dismiss her. Instead he swung the reins and sent his horse riding to the right, charging through the brush and away from the direction which Petra had flown.

Pulling the flare gun from his waist, he shot twice to indicate the sighting of a 'titan', and then paused a minute before firing once more through the trees to indicate his change of direction. Everything was going smoothly once more, until a series of shots fired from his right flank. One, two, three.

He blinked. He hadn't really expected anyone to need to use the emergency code during a drill. Nonetheless, his task was to lead the formation, and he waited for a single shot from either Levi or Hanji, whoever had not fired the emergency shots, in recognition of the others code and to imply that they would be sending help. When a few minutes passed and none came, he pulled the flare gun out again and fired a single round to signal a large directional change as he set out in search of what had happened to half of his soldiers.

When he arrived, he expected to find Levi or Hanji, perhaps both, lying on the ground and incapacitated by the fake titans. However he merely found two horses, sans their riders, tethered to one another and grazing passively.

"What in –"

With a huff of air he was knocked from his horse and landed in the grass. Flipping onto his back immediately, muscles tense, he was surprised to find Captain Levi perched over him in a defensive stance.

"Captain –"

"Sh," he was hushed immediately. Levi was eyeing the seemingly calm surroundings like a hawk. "I just saved your ass from titans."

"You knocked me off of my horse."

"Because the _titans _were going to knock you off your horse," he explained it like it was common sense. Then he reached down and grabbed at Erwin's forearms, pulling him to his feet. "Hanji's gear was damaged in a titan attack. I hid her and launched a counterattack, but didn't catch any of them. Yet."

"Why didn't anyone fire the signal for a titan sighting?" He brushed the grass from his uniform.

"Hanji's flare gun jammed," he rolled his eyes. "Whatever, we can still make it."

Levi's eyes widened briefly and he slammed his palms down onto Erwin's shoulders, both of them ducking in time to dodge the form of a man flying just barely over the top of them.

"Dammit," Levi cursed, "Erd nearly hits me every time."

"Levi!" He could hear the faint cry of Hanji in the distance. "Auruo-type titan! Emergency!"

"Fucking hell, Hanji!" Came Levi's harsh reply.

"We've got to get back on horseback or we'll ruin the formation," Erwin pointed out. "Mike and Nanaba should be headed this way."

"Right," Levi agreed. "I'll get Hanji, you go on ahead. We'll catch up once I take care of these titans."

Erwin nodded, slinging back onto his horse.

"Do try not to actually wound any of our titan-soldiers, would you, Levi?"

"Yeah, yeah," he droned, hopping onto his own horse and urging along Hanji's tethered one. "Just get us to the damn castle already."

Erwin fired off a shot and headed straight for the target once more. It couldn't be more than a mile off, and he sent his steed into a straight gallop.

It was only a minute or so later that he nearly trampled Petra Ral, who was curled up on the ground in the leaves. She shrieked as she rolled out of the way of the oncoming hooves.

"Petra!" He pulled back on the reins and halted, spinning around to see the girl. "Are you alright, Cadet?"

"Yes, sir!" She nodded fervently, getting to her feet and looking a little shaken. "Sorry, sir! I was slain by Squad Leader Hanji, sir, so I was lying in the grass where she killed me."

"What?" He furrowed his brow. "I thought that Hanji's gear malfunctioned?"

"Yes, well, she was hiding in a tree and jumped down at me. She grabbed my flag. It was quite noble of her, sir."

"Wait, how did her gear malfunction in the first place?" It occurred to him that there were no actual threats to them in the forest and that gear breaking for next to no reason was actually a serious problem, should it happen on a real mission outside the walls.

"I'm not sure, sir. Last I saw her she was running through the forest. She said she was searching for Captain Levi."

Erwin sighed. That did not bode well for the mission, drill or not. He motioned for Petra to climb aboard the horse, which certainly had room for a small girl like Petra. She wrapped her arms around his waist – albeit a bit nervously – and they carried on.

"Found you!" Erwin's attention turned to the sound of a victorious screech in the near distance. He recognized Hanji's voice immediately. "Oh, where is Levi when I need him?"

"Hanji!" He called. There was a delighted scream but no reply, and then one of actually believable agony. His heart jumped into his throat and he spurred his horse as fast as he could, not bothering to fire a directional flare. "Hanji!"

He found the woman splayed out on the ground, face down. Within an instant he had flung himself from his horse and flipped her over.

"Hanji," he spoke hurriedly, until he realized that the look on her face was one of pure delight. "Hanji?"

"Slain!" She cried dramatically. "In the heat of glorious battle. A miserable death by the dreaded Moblit-type titan."

Erwin deadpanned. From the trees, Levi came on horseback.

"I left you alone for all of one fucking minute and you got killed?" He scorned, unimpressed. "You deserve to be demoted."

"I thought that you were actually in danger," Erwin stood up and sighed. The brunette giggled.

"No," she shook her head, "I was only going for realism. Also, Levi let the Moblit-type titan get away, and I slayed the Petra-type without gear. So, _he _deserves a demotion."

"It was very valiant, Squad Leader," Petra nodded with a smile from her place on his horse. Levi glared and she straightened up. "But I'm sure Captain Levi will ensure a similar death for the Moblit-type, of course!"

"The formation is entirely ruined," Erwin contemplated as Hanji boarded her horse.

"The mission failed anyway," Levi shrugged, "seeing as Shitty Glasses got herself killed."

He fired four shots into the air and awaited the arrival of Mike and Nanaba. As they waited, Moblit and Erd arrived.

"Erd had it out for me," Levi glared, but it was nonthreatening compared to what he was capable of. "You shit."

"Yeah, well," the blonde justified, "I didn't want to face you in the air, so I had to try and go for you while you were on your horse."

"I can't believe you killed me, Moblit," Hanji lamented. "Though it was beautiful form! I only wanted to study you and your kind!"

"Squad Leader, please."

"How did your gear become damaged, Hanji?" Erwin inquired, genuinely concerned. She grinned in reply.

"It didn't," she answered._ "Realism,_ Erwin!"

When Mike and Nanaba arrived, Auruo and Gunter were on horseback with them.

"Erwin, what the hell?" Mike demanded immediately. "I died like fifteen minutes ago!"

"What?" Erwin blinked.

"He got double-teamed by Auruo and Gunter," Nanaba explained. "I put them down, though."

"Why didn't you fire any signals?" Erwin asked.

"We did!" Mike said exasperatedly. "Well, Nanaba did. I was already dead. But she fired for an emergency, and nobody ever responded. We were nearly at the castle when we realized the formation had gone to shit."

"We need more practice," Levi observed monotonously.

"I _know _what we need," Hanji grinned, clasping her hands together, and Erwin got a sinking feeling that whatever that was, they did not need it at all.

* * *

He was wrong about that, it seemed, because when Hanji appeared in his office next, she had what looked to be the same old flare gun they had used for the field drill. However, what came with it was different.

"Colors," she splayed out the little cartons of ammunition. "Now we can distinguish signals by color and not by frequency. It'll cut down on confusion, I hope. We'll still need practice, of course. But it's a start, don't you think?"

"What do the colors mean?" He looked at the cartridges presented on his desk. Red, blue, purple…

"Whatever you want them to," she said. "I haven't decided on codes for any of them yet and nobody has seen them except for you."

"You're certain that they work?"

"Completely," she nodded. He put his fingers to his chin.

"Send Levi for me, would you, Hanji?" He asked. She nodded. "And thank you. I appreciate all of the work you've put into this project."

"It's for the good of humanity, sir," she smiled and saluted. About ten minutes later, she was replaced by Captain Levi.

"Close the door behind you," Erwin ordered, and he did so.

"What're those?" Levi raised an eyebrow. Erwin picked one up and held it out to him, which he took and rolled in his spindly fingers.

"Color cartridges for the flare guns," he explained. Levi's eyebrows rose slightly, the only indication he gave that he was impressed. "Would you like to help me decide what codes the colors mean?"

Then Levi raised only one eyebrow, glancing up from the cartridge to Erwin.

"You need help?"

"No," Erwin admitted. "But I thought I might ask you anyway. I'd like your help, even if I don't need it."

Levi was silent.

"Perhaps if I make more of an effort to include your input," Erwin carried on carefully, "you won't tell noble ladies that I'm only committed to my work."

Levi was motionless and quiet for a moment longer, and Erwin wondered if perhaps he had said the wrong thing. Then the captain smiled ever so slightly and climbed atop his desk, placing the ball of each heel on the arm rests of Erwin's chair.

"Hm," he rolled the cartridge in his hand. "I'll consider it, I guess."

"I know I'm an insufferable workaholic most of the time," he felt personally that such a statement was an exaggeration, but it made Levi smile again and that was a sight certainly worth it, "but it's a start, don't you think?"

"Yeah, whatever," Levi noted the color of the cartridge in his hand. "Purple. Can this be what I fire into your office when you're being an ass?"

Erwin chuckled and found to his pleasure that Levi did as well.

"How about that one is for emergencies?" He suggested.

"Same thing," Levi corrected him, and picked up another color to contemplate its potential meaning. "Yeah, I guess this is a start. Oh, when the budget report for the month comes in today, don't look at it."

Erwin blinked.

"Why?" He asked cautiously.

"Because we're having a decent day," Erwin smiled until the next sentence left his lips, "and it'll be ruined if you realize how much I spent restocking my cleaning supplies."

_"Levi."_

"You authorized it," the man shrugged. "Don't ignore me next time."


End file.
